Criminal Injuries CICA Free Advice On Payouts
If you were the victim of an assault at work by another member of staff, or your employer, a customer or anyone else, you could be entitled to receive compensation for the distress, pain and the injuries the incident caused you. To find out whether you have a strong assault at work claim against someone and whether you could be entitled to compensation, please read on.
What Are The Most Common Cases of Assault at Work?
You do not have to be subjected to a physical attack in the workplace to seek compensation because there are many forms of assault that could happen to you in the workplace. This could include the following:
- Verbal abuse which includes being called rude and unwanted names
- Being yelled or shouted at in an intimidating way
- Being threatened verbally – examples being threats to kill or hurt a family member or friend
- Aggressive behaviours – this includes being spat at, having your hair pulled or being stared at menacingly by someone
- Being threatened with demotion or the sacked because you file an official complaint
- Being pushed, kicked, slapped, scratched or punched
What Are the Consequences of Being the Victim of Assault at Work?
The most obvious signs of having been the victim of assault at work, are the injuries you sustained if you were physically attacked by someone. However, the psychological effect an attack can have on you when you were just carrying out your job, are often overlooked or ignored. This applies to the victim of an assault at work and to the people who witnessed the incident, namely fellow workers and anyone else who happened to be present in the workplace at the time.
The consequences for both victims and witnesses can be long lasting and far-reaching. It can leave you with feelings of insecurity in the workplace, stressed out and tense which in turn can affect your ability to carry out the jobs you are tasked to do during the course of a working day. Your morale too can be negatively impacted which as time goes by can lead to depression and anxiety which then affects your overall well-being and general health as well as your ability to work.
What Are My Rights If I Am Assaulted at Work?
Employers in the UK are legally obliged to ensure that a workplace is a safe environment which not only includes setting in place measure to reduce the risk of injury to employees, other workers and visitors but also to ensure that nobody is subjected to an assault at work or any other act of violence. If your employer chose to ignore their duty to keep you safe and you end up being the victim of an assault at work, they could be deemed liable. As such, you may be entitled to seek compensation for the distress, pain and loss of amenity you may have had to endure as a direct result of the attack.
What Should I Do If I Am The Victim of an Assault at Work?
Whether you are the victim of a physical or verbal assault at work, the first thing to do is get away from your assailant and if this means leaving the premises, you should do so. Once you are in a safe place, you should tell the person in charge what has happened as soon as you can whether this is in person or by telephone if you have a device on you. If you want to file an assault at work claim, you should also do the following:
- If the assault at work was physical and you suffered injuries, you should seek medical treatment as soon as you can. You can request that the doctor who treats you provides a detailed report of the injuries you sustained making sure that even minor symptoms are included. The reason being that a slight injury can turn into something more serious further down the line
- When possible, which should be as soon as you can safely do so, make sure that the incident is officially reported in the work’s Accident Report Book. If there is no book, you should send a personal email to your employer or you could send a letter by registered post detailing the incident and the injuries you sustained
- Get witness statements of everyone who may have seen the assault at work on you and include their contact details. These would be required when seeking assault at work compensation
- Write down a detailed account of the lead up to the assault while the events are still fresh in your mind. This should also include what happened as the assault took place and the events that occurred immediately afterwards
- Contact the Police and file an assault report with them. You would need to have a Police report should you want to seek compensation through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (CICA)
You should also contact a personal injury lawyer to seek legal advice on how best to proceed and what evidence would be needed to file a claim through the CICA scheme.
Putting Your Own Safety First If You Are the Victim of Assault at Work
As previously mentioned, the first and most important thing to do when you are subjected to any sort of violence in the workplace, is to remove yourself from danger so that your assailant cannot cause you any more injury whether physical or psychological. Being assaulted at work can leave you confused, unable to think clearly with your adrenaline pumping, your sense to fight or flight kicks in. You can use self-defence to protect yourself but removing yourself from further danger is the far better option.
Seeking Medical Attention for Injuries You Suffered in an Assault at Work
You should seek medical attention as soon as you can because you may not be aware of any physical injuries you may have suffered during the attack on you. This is often the case when your adrenaline in pumping. A doctor would examine you and provide an all important report on any injuries you suffered when you were assaulted at work.
Reporting the Assault at Work to the Police
You must report an attack on you at work to the Police, more especially if you want to seek compensation for the distress, injuries and any other losses you endured through the CICA compensation scheme. The Police would start an investigation into the assault and you would be given a crime reference number which would be more essential evidence when filing for assault at work compensation through the Criminal Injuries Compensation scheme.
Reporting the Assault at Work to An Employer or Person in Charge
All too often, assaults that take place at work are not always recorded in an official Accident Report Book. As such, it is crucial that you report the incident to your employer or to the person in charge as soon after the incident happens as possible. This official report would be required if you want to seek compensation whether through the CICA scheme or other. You could send a personal email to your employer or a letter sent by registered mail detailing the assault at work that you were subjected to.
Gathering Evidence of Your Assault at Work
As previously mentioned, for a claim to be accepted through the CICA scheme, you would need to provide enough evidence to prove your case. This would include the following:
- Photos of where the assault took place
- CCTV footage (if available) of the incident – your employer is obliged to provide this when you ask them to and they must do so in a timely manner
- Take photos of the injuries you sustained prior to receiving any treatment
- Get a detailed medical report from the doctor who treated your injuries whether this is your own GP or the doctor in the Accident Emergency department of your local hospital
The more evidence you have, the stronger your case would be and this includes whether the assault at work on you was in fact, predictable. You should also seek legal advice from a personal injury lawyer when you are subjected to an assault in the workplace. The reason being they have much experience when it comes to establishing who could be deemed responsible for the violence against you.
Keeping a Diary of The Symptoms You Experience Following an Assault at Work
You may have suffered physical injuries during the assault at work that you were subjected to but you may have to cope with psychological injuries too. You should record all the symptoms you have to endure whether physical or emotional and you should do so by keeping a detailed diary of how you are feeling. You should make a note in your diary of any and all medical appointments you attend and the medication that a doctor prescribes for you.
If you want to file an assault at work claim, all this information would be needed, bearing in mind that you may need to be examined by an independent medical professional too and having a record of all your symptoms in a diary can help build the report on your physical and mental well-being following an assault at work.
Criminal Injuries CICA Free Advice On Payouts
Should I Submit a Grievance If I Am the Victim of an Assault at Work?
If you feel that the assault at work against you was preventable, you may want to submit a grievance. You may think that your employer was aware of the risk of violence against you but they failed to pass the information to you which in itself can be very distressing.
You may find that a fellow worker did not complete information relating to any previous incidents that took place and that if the details had been correctly reported, you would have been more prepared and therefore you may have been able to avoid the assault at work against you from taking place.
When you submit a grievance to your employer, it sends the right signal that the correct measures to prevent this type of incident occurring are essential and that this type of workplace violence will not be tolerated. That in the future, fellow workers would not be subjected to the sort of assault at work that you had to endure.
Making Sure Your Employer Has Submitted a Report of the Assault at Work to RIDDOR – If Applicable
If you were unable to work for 7 days or more because of the assault at work you endured, your employer must report the incident to RIDDOR and it is essential that you check this has been done. If you find that the incident was not reported, you have the right to contact the Health and Safety Executive yourself.
Demanding Your Employer Improves Risk Assessment Following an Assault at Work
If you were the victim of an assault at work and you suffered injuries, the chances are that any risk assessments an employer carried out were not effective. As such, you have the right to demand that better risk assessments are regularly carried out in the future to prevent the risk of an assault occurring again.
Demanding that Better Training is Provided If You Were The Victim of an Assault at Work
The assault at work you were subjected to may have occurred because of inadequate training. You have the right to demand that better training is provided in the future. An example being that a care worker has not been provided with sufficient training on how to deal with a patient who suffers from dementia or autism. The consequence is the member of staff is injured while carrying out their duties. Had adequate training been provided, the injuries may have been prevented.
Keeping a Record of Your Losses and Damages Following an Assault at Work
When you are subjected to an assault at work, the chances are that you incurred financial losses. You may also have had to cope with damage to your personal property. It is essential that you keep a record of all your losses and damages because evidence of this would be required when filing for compensation whether through the CICA scheme or other.
If you are unsure on how to proceed with an assault at work compensation claim, you should contact a personal injury lawyer who would offer valuable advice on the proof required for a case to be valid and the losses, damages you could be entitled to include in your claim.
Working With a Personal Injury Solicitor on an Assault at Work Claim
As with all personal injury claims whether disputed or liability accepted, the legal process involved in filing an assault at work claim can be complex. As such, having the expertise of a personal injury solicitor work on your case, offers many advantages one of which is establishing who could be held responsible for the incident you had to endure while you were at work. Another advantage is that a personal injury lawyer would organise for you to be examined by an independent medical professional. The report that is produced would be used as a basis for the general damages you would be awarded.
Other benefits and advantages that a personal injury solicitor would bring to the table when making an assault claim would include but is not limited to the following:
- Once satisfied that your assault at work case is strong which a personal injury solicitor would establish in an initial consultation which is free of any charge, they would represent you on a No Win No Fee basis. You would not be under any sort of obligation to go forward with your assault claim, should you not wish to
- You would not have to find the money to pay for a personal injury lawyer to represent you when you sign a No Win No Fee agreement
- There would be no ongoing payments to find as your assault at work case goes forward
- If your case is complex, a personal injury lawyer would work hard to ensure that you are paid “interim payments” until a final settlement is agreed
- A personal injury solicitor would respect all pre-action protocols which in itself can help speed up your claim
- If you choose to claim compensation through the CICA scheme, a personal injury lawyer would help you through the process which is complex with many rules that must be respected for a claim to be accepted
- If you require ongoing care because of the injuries you suffered in an assault at work, whether your injuries are physical or psychological, a personal injury lawyer would ensure the cost of the care is included in the compensation you receive
What Level of Assault at Work Compensation Could I Receive?
The level of assault at work compensation you may receive would depend on the severity of any injuries you sustained in the attack and how long it takes you to recover. Another factor that would be taken into account is whether your injuries led to the need to ongoing therapy. Other considerations that would be factored into the assault at work compensation you may be awarded would include the following:
- Your loss of earnings and future earnings
- Mental trauma you suffered
- Medical expenses
- Damage to your property
- Care costs
- Loss of amenity – whether your quality of life is negatively impacted by the injuries you suffered in an assault at work
- Home adaptations
- All other expenses and costs incurred as a result of being assaulted at work
As previously mentioned, it is vitally important that you keep all relevant receipts for the expenses you had to pay out because when filing a claim, these would be needed as evidence and would be used to calculate the amount of assault at work compensation you are awarded whether this is through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, through the courts or in an out of court settlement.
Criminal Injuries CICA Free Advice On Payouts